Used openly and sensibly, AI makes you visibly more productive. Used secretly or carelessly, it is one of the fastest ways to lose trust at a new job.
Good uses at work: drafting a first version of an email, summarising a long document you already have, explaining something you were told and did not follow, checking your own writing before sending.
You remain responsible for anything you send. "The AI wrote it" has never been an acceptable explanation for a mistake that reached a customer, and it will not be for you.
You use AI to draft a customer email.
What happens: It invents a policy your company does not have, or uses a tone that does not fit. The customer sees your name on it, and so does your manager.
What happens: You saved fifteen minutes and the output is correct. This is what using AI well actually looks like, and it is not dramatic.
Should I tell my manager I use AI?
Usually yes, and it is better coming from you. Most managers care about accuracy and confidentiality rather than about the tool. Being open also protects you: if there is a policy you did not know about, you find out in a conversation instead of in a disciplinary meeting.
A colleague uses AI for everything and gets things wrong
Focus on the errors rather than the tool, and raise it as work quality rather than as an accusation. "This section is not right, can we check it" gets a better outcome than "you used AI". The problem was never the tool, it was sending work nobody checked.
Before you move on
- Read and fix everything before you send it
- Ask about the AI policy in your first week
- Own your work, whatever helped you make it
Check what you know
3 questions. Have a look at what this lesson asks.
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